High Court Confirms That Non-authorised Fee Earners Cannot Conduct Litigation

The decision clarifies the scope of work which may be undertaken, in the course of litigation, by fee earners who are not authorised to conduct litigation by a relevant regulator.

The High Court has clarified that the requirement for authorisation to conduct litigation under the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA) is personal in nature, so a non-authorised individual cannot conduct litigation (even under supervision) simply because their firm is authorised: Mazur & Anor v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB).

The authorisation requirement, as noted by Mr Justice Cavanagh in Baxter v Doble [2023] EWHC 486 (KB), is not a new one: it has been the position since no later than the enactment of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. This decision, however, provides some clarity on the type of litigation work that may be undertaken by, for example, trainee solicitors, paralegals, some employed barristers and some foreign-qualified lawyers.